ILO Director-General meets Labour Minister: Assured of cooperation in job creation in Bangladesh.

ILO Director-General meets Labour Minister: Assured of cooperation in job creation in Bangladesh.

MD Babul Bangladesh representeve
Geneva, March 31, 2026 International Labour Organization (ILO) Director-General Gilbert Hongbo has assured that ILO will cooperate in job creation in Bangladesh in solidarity with the government’s priorities. The Director-General of the organization gave this assurance in a bilateral meeting held with Labor and Employment Minister Ariful Haque Chowdhury MP, who is visiting Geneva to participate in the 356th ILO Governing Body. The meeting was attended by Prime Minister’s Advisor on Labor, Employment and Education Mahdi Amin and Labor and Employment Secretary Abdur Rahman Tarafdar.

At the beginning of the meeting, ILO Director-General Gilbert Hongbo congratulated the current government for being elected through a fair and peaceful election and assuming office. He commented that this democratic transition is important in the interest of the people of Bangladesh. He said that ILO is keen to work with the new government. The Labour Minister conveyed Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s greetings to the Director General. The Labour Minister said that creating employment for a large number of youth and women in Bangladesh is one of the important priorities for the government. He expressed hope that ILO’s cooperation, especially the ILO Dhaka Office, will take more initiatives in this regard. The ILO Director General agreed with the Labour Minister and assured the government of necessary cooperation in this regard.

The Labour Minister expected the Director General’s cooperation in resolving the ongoing Article 26 case against Bangladesh. In this context, the Director General highly appreciated the diplomatic activities of the Bangladesh Permanent Mission and said that the Mission has been maintaining diplomatic contacts with various member states of the ILO, chairing the organization’s governing body, being the Asia and Pacific Coordinator and leading on various important issues, as a result of which it has received huge support in the ongoing case against Bangladesh. In this regard, he commented that it is important to strengthen diplomatic contacts with various member states along with the development of the labor sector in the country.
The Minister of Labor sought the cooperation of the Director General in further expanding the cooperation of international brands, multinational companies and marketing organizations in establishing rights for the working people of Bangladesh according to international labor standards. In this regard, he expressed optimism that the Director General can play an important role in contributing to various social protection activities such as low-cost medical treatment, accident insurance, etc.

Prime Minister’s Advisor on Labor, Employment and Education Mahdi Amin, participating in the discussion, said that the government is striving to protect the democratic values, human rights and labor rights promised in the election manifesto. Out of a sense of responsibility towards the people, we are working to create employment, develop skills and promote labor rights.

The Minister of Labor welcomed the decision of the Director General to visit Bangladesh next June. Ambassador Nahida Sobhan, Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to Geneva, and Abdus Samad Azad, Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Labor were present at the meeting.